Joseph Royer (1884,

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

– August 10, 1965,

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

) was a Canadian

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

tic

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

Life and career

Born in

, Royer moved with his family to the United States as a child and spent his youth in

Berlin, New Hampshire Berlin ( ) is a city along the Androscoggin River in Coös County in northern New Hampshire, United States. It is the northernmost city in New Hampshire. The population was 9,425 at the 2020 census, down from 10,051 at the 2010 census. It ...

. After working as a church musician in his hometown, he moved to New York City to study singing with

Victor Maurel Victor Maurel (17 June 184822 October 1923) was a French operatic baritone who enjoyed an international reputation as a great singing actor. Biography Maurel was born in Marseille. Educated in music and stagecraft at the Paris Conservatory, ...

. He made his professional opera debut with the

Aborn Opera Company The Aborn Opera company was an American opera company that was active from 1895 through 1922. History Founded and operated by brothers Milton Aborn (1864–1933) and Sargent Aborn (1866–1956), the company was based out of New York City but sp ...

as Atahanael in Massenet's '' Thais''. In 1912 he portrayed Raminagrobis in the world premiere of

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are '' Manon'' (1884) and ''Werther' ...

's ''

Panurge Panurge (from el, πανοῦργος / ''panoûrgos'' meaning "knave, rogue") is one of the principal characters in ''Gargantua and Pantagruel'', a series of five novels by François Rabelais. Especially important in the third and fourth books, ...

'' at the Théâtre de la Gaîté in Paris. In 1920 he performed the role of Michele in

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

's first production of Puccini's ''

Il tabarro ''Il tabarro'' (''The Cloak'') is an opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami, based on 's play ''La houppelande''. It is the first of the trio of operas known as ''Il trittico''. The first performance was given ...

''. That same year he portrayed Pistola in Verdi's ''

Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays '' Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...

'' at La Monnaie and Jack Rance in Puccini's ''

La fanciulla del West ''La fanciulla del West'' (''The Girl of the West'') is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by and , based on the 1905 play '' The Girl of the Golden West'' by the American author David Belasco. ''Fanciulla'' followe ...

'' at

La Fenice Teatro La Fenice (, "The Phoenix") is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th century, La Fenice beca ...

. Royer was a regular performer with the

San Carlo Opera Company The San Carlo Opera Company was the name of two different opera companies active in the United States during the first half of the twentieth century. Henry Russell's San Carlo Opera The first company was founded by impresario Henry Russell, initi ...

from 1916 to 1934. During the 1920s he toured with light opera companies in Asia, South America, and South Africa. On 16 May 1936, he made his debut at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

as Escamillo in Bizet's ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

''. He performed several more roles at the Met in 1936–37, including Alfio in '' Cavalleria Rusticana'', Amonasro in '' Aida'', and

Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805. Burr's legacy is defined by his famous personal conflict with Alexand ...

in the world premiere of

Walter Damrosch Walter Johannes Damrosch (January 30, 1862December 22, 1950) was a German-born American conductor and composer. He was the director of the New York Symphony Orchestra and conducted the world premiere performances of various works, including Ge ...

's '' The Man Without a Country''. He also performed with opera companies in Chicago, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and St Louis. After retiring in 1945, Royer resided in Phoenix, Arizona, with his second wife, soprano Rosa Tentoni. His first marriage to soprano Elizabeth Amsden had ended previously in divorce. He died in Phoenix at the age of 81.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Royer, Joseph 1884 births 1965 deaths Canadian operatic baritones Singers from Quebec Musicians from Quebec City Canadian expatriates in the United States 20th-century Canadian male opera singers